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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. present — the time now
  8. perch — the fish
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bark — to shout
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — high quality
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fine — all right
  20. field — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. prune — to trim
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com